About Me

Amanda:I've always had a love of cooking. As a teenager, when most of my friends were watching sitcoms, I was watching Food Network. I was always experimenting on my family with my "creations." Recently I have found a new passion in food. I now follow the principles of Weston A. Price Foundation, using Real Food when I cook. I've eliminated processed foods from my life. I don't use too many measurements when I cook, just a lot of love.

I have opened up this blog to my family and some friends, so there will be a lot of recipes to enjoy. As always, please leave comments, and suggestions. If you try one of our recipes, please let us know what you thought of it! To find out more about me, visit my personal blog here.

Contributing Cooks:

Julie:One of my wonderful sister-in-laws. Shes a great mom of two. She and I share a passion for food. One of her favorite weekend spots is to go hang out at the gourmet supermarket to take in the sights! You can visit her personal blog here.

Karen:My Momma. Yes, I'm almost 30 and call her Momma. She encouraged my love for food by helping me cook many dinners while I was growing up. I cooked spaghetti so many times, that to this day, we are both "tired" of it. But back then she never complained.

Jules:I met Jules in the blogsphere and fell in love with her blog, Far from the Sticks. Here is a little more about her in her own words: I grew up in the wilds of New Hampshire. After college I went in search of warmth and sun and ended up in San Diego. In Feb. '09 I moved to Ankara, Turkey with my fiance. Officially I am now an ex-pat. I am currently butchering Turkish in my attempt to learn it, but have had more success with the food. I pounce at any chance to try a new dish, and have few boundaries when it comes to what I won't eat. Through my exeriences I am learning the intricacies of a cuisine that varies from Mediterranean to Anatolian. Growing up I never imagined this particular adventure but nonetheless am excited for what is to come.

Recipes I want to try

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Friday, November 25, 2011

Chocolate Ganache Coconut Pie

If you like coconut and chocolate you will love this pie. It takes like a Mounds candy bar, except oh, so much better. It's really as easy as pie to make. Haha. But you'll have to forgive me because this is a "cooks" recipe. I'm not a baker and I don't do well with measuring. So realize that this pie was NOT measured, just a guess here and a taste there. But it'd be really hard to mess up, so dive in and please, don't forget to lick the bowl. I used coconut oil in the recipe, simply because coconut oil is really, really good for you. If you don't want to use coconut oil, then just use a bit extra butter in the crust and omit it in the ganache. No harm done. -Amanda

*I used salted butter because the salt adds a bit to balance the sweetness. If you use unsalted butter you might add a pinch of sea salt to the crust. I actually added a tiny pinch extra to the crust anyway.

Spread coconut flakes on a cookie sheet and place in the middle of your oven. Broil on high, watching VERY closely. Stir a few times until nicely toasted. While coconut flakes are toasting, in a medium size bowl melt the butter and coconut oil in the microwave. (You can use the stovetop and transfer to a bowl also.)

Add coconut flakes to butter and coconut oil and stir until well moistened. Drizzle in a very small amount of honey and taste. You want the crust slightly sweet, but not too much!!

Press coconut flakes into an ungreased pie plate, pushing them up the sides. Then drizzle a thin layer of honey on top of the coconut flakes.

In the same bowl (as to reduce the amount of dirty dishes!) Heat the heavy cream until warm to the touch, but not boiling. (Or again, use a pot and transfer to the bowl.) Add in chocolate chips and stir. At first it'll look like milk chocolate. Keep stirring, suddenly it'll get darker and glossy looking. Add vanilla.

Pour chocolate into the crust and refrigerate for at least two hours. Enjoy! This pie was rich enough that we cut it into about 16 pieces and everyone was satisfied!